Authorities are marvelling no-one was killed when the brakes on a truck failed and it crashed through a McDonald's carpark north of Wollongong, with the driver desperately trying to warn people to get out of the way.

Once regarded as the poor cousin to surfing, professional bodyboarding has come a long way. One of the sport's biggest fans, nine-times bodyboarding world champion Mike Stewart is in Australia to compete and pass on tips to other boarders.

By the late '90s, Wollongong was a cesspool of corruption and abuse, its streets awash with heroin. But the gruesome slaying of one of the town's most powerful figures marked the start of the road to redemption.